Iraqi parliament approves landmark US military pact

Iraq's parliament on Thursday approved a landmark military pact that will see all US troops withdraw by the end of 2011. After 11 months of hard-nosed negotiations with Washington and a flurry of 11th hour horse-trading leading up to the vote, the pact was approved by 144 members of the 198 who attended the session of the 275-member assembly. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's Shiite-led government succeeded in corralling a majority to support the historic agreement, including the main blocs representing the country's Sunni and Kurdish minorities. "Today if this passes it will be a victory for democracy because the opposition have done their part and the supporters have done their part," government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said ahead of the vote.